Ella

Ella is a beautiful small sleepy town on the southern edge of Sri Lanka's Hill Country.

A cottage in the countryside near Ella

It's situated in the middle of beautiful countryside, with small vegetable plots in the valleys, tea plantations on the hill slopes and forests on the tops.

The climate throughout most of the year is typical of the high Hill Country, with a hot sun by midday, but a moderate air temperature. It will often rain in the afternoon, but only for an hour or so. A sweatshirt, or light jacket is needed at night. In December it can rain a lot!

There's not much to do in Ella itself, with a handful of small shops and only a few bars/restaurants. It's basically a nicely relaxing base for exploring the surrounding country.

Ella has a small post office, but no banks or ATMs. To change money you need to catch a bus or train to one of the nearby towns of Badulla or Bandarawella. Track bashers (rail enthusiasts) should particularly enjoy the line to Badulla, where at the village of Demodara it does a 360 degree loop before crossing over itself.

Contents

Get in

By rail. Ella's a few stops from Badulla at the end of the railway line that snakes through the Hill Country. Trains go to Colombo and Kandy from here. The fares are ludicrously cheap in 2nd and 3rd class, (2nd class fare, December 2007, Colombo to Ella was R200/- or about USD 2.00) and the views spectacular. It's usually no problem getting a seat in 2nd/3rd class going to Colombo or Kandy, as the trains from Badulla are quite empty until reaching Nanu Oya. However the reverse is true going up to Ella and it can be quite crowded until the last 2 or 3 hours of the journey. Ella's railway station itself is prettily quaint.

Ella Railway Station

By Road. Buses go south through Ella Gap to Wellawaya where you can change for a number of destinations in the south of the island

Get around

Walk!

See

Rawana Ella Falls are about 5km away on the road south through Ella Gap. They're quite spectacular. Take your swimming costume for a refreshing dip, but beware of the touts selling tourist junk. You can catch frequent buses for about R10/-, or better still walk (but catch a bus back up the hill). About half-way down the road you can stop off for a look at the small temple and a cave above it where, according to local legend, Sita was kept as a prisoner before being rescued by Rama. You are also quite likely to meet families of langur monkeys by the roadside.

Do

Walk up to Ella's Rock, about 2 hours along the railway track and through the tea plantations, for stunning views across the countryside. The first 1.5km is along the railway track itself so keep an ear out for oncoming trains although they travel so slowly you'll have plenty of time to get out of the way. If you stay at Rawana Holiday Resort they'll give you a quaint hand drawn map to get you there!

Buy

Eat

The home cooking in the guest houses/hotels is probably the best food in town.

Ella View Restaurant and Bar serves hot meals, but the quality is very poor. It's quite a dingy place that tends to be frequented by local arrack addicts. Certainly not recommended for unaccompanied women.

Ella Holiday Inn opened in 2005 at the Wellawaya Road junction in the centre of town is a good place for meals, snacks and drinks, sitting on the verandah looking out at life on the main street.

Drink

See "eat" above.

Sleep

Sunnyside Holiday Bungalow, (web: [2], e-mail: sunnyside@go2lk.com, tel. 057 5615011) in Ella Sri Lanka is a peaceful bungalow surrounded by a tea plantation and offers comfortable accommodation with home cooked meals. There are three clean rooms with attached toilets and hot water showers. Rooms rates are around LKR 1800/- (US$18).

Hill Top Guest House, (e-mail: hilltopella@hotmail.com, tel. 057 2228780) has a balcony with a wonderful view through Ella Gap, and serves delicious home-cooked meals. The rooms are quite basic but clean and all have showers and hot water. The owner, Chattura Swarna, is very friendly, helpful and has a great sense of humour. Internet access is also available. Rooms are about R1200/- (US$11).

Contact

Get out

Take a walk through the tea plantations to Little Adam's Peak south-east of the town centre, and about 45 minutes away.

Countryside on route to Ella Rock

For more strenuous exercise walk to the top of Ella Rock for views across the Hill Country and with the town nestled in the hills below you. This walk is about 2 hours each way, and about half of it is along the railway line before cutting off into the hills. For a longer walk, rather than head straight back to the line from the hill top, follow the track through the forest. (You can't really get lost. Just head downhill when you've had enough, and before long you will meet a road or the railway line.)

The locals who live near the bottom of Ella Rock have recently come up with a wonderful piece of inventive free enterprise. They obliterate existing tracks up the hill and create new ones every now and then. Tourists following guidebooks get completely lost, and suddenly, Hey Presto! A local appears offering to guide them.

Stay healthy

Don't walk in the countryside in shorts and sandals/flipflops, especially after it's been raining. There are lots of leeches that hang on to the vegetation by the side of tracks waiting for a nice juicy mammal to walk by. They're perfectly harmless really and if one attaches itself to you it's best to just let it drink its fill and drop off again. You have lots of blood and can spare one or two c.c. The other alternative would be to burn it with a cigarette or match.